Why are Ethiopians risking thier lives crossing the deadly Red Sea to Yemen leaving behind the paradise created by the Woyanne government in Ethiopia?
GENEVA (AP) – At least 56 Africans have died in recent days trying to make the perilous journey across the Gulf of Aden into Yemen, the U.N. refugee agency said Friday.
Ron Redmond, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said hundreds of Somali, Ethiopian and Sudanese have crammed into boats since the start of September in an attempt to escape to the Arabian peninsula. Most were taken by smugglers.
Those who made it ashore told UNHCR monitors that people had died as the result of beatings, drowning and simple overcrowding of the often rickety vessels that travel between Somalia and Yemen, Redmond said.
«Many of them had been beaten, and some were reportedly doused with acid by the smugglers,» he told reporters in Geneva, where UNHCR has its headquarters. «The bodies of those who did not survive the six-day ordeal were reportedly thrown overboard.
In one single journey 24 people died, Redmond said.
He said some 925 people, mostly from Ethiopia and Somalia, have arrived safely in Yemen since Sept. 3. At least 12 boats have arrived in that time.
The passengers told refugee monitors they paid between US$70 and US$150 (¤50 and ¤108) for the journey.
The smugglers often force passengers to disembark offshore to avoid Yemeni coast guard patrols.
Redmond said an Ethiopian who survived a recent voyage was injured after arrival.
«Once they reached shore, they came under fire from military forces,» Redmond said, adding that UNHCR has raised the issue with Yemeni authorities because it has received three or four reports of this kind.
Yemeni military contingents say they fire at smugglers and not at the passengers, according to Redmond. He said the latest case was still unclear.
At least 282 people have died and 159 have gone missing this year trying to crossing the Gulf of Aden.
Migrants from the Horn of Africa _ particularly from Somalia where ongoing violence between the U.N.-supported interim government and Islamic groups has caused thousands to flee their homes _ regularly face abuse at the hands of smugglers.
Some are attacked during the journey and thrown overboard into shark-infested waters.
The high season for smuggling across the gulf usually runs from early September to May when the sea is less stormy than during summer. Over 10,000 people have reportedly arrived in Yemen by boat this year, the agency said.
UNCHR has 25 officials in the northern Somali Puntland region carrying out an information campaign to warn people of the risks they face at the hands of smugglers, Redmond said.